Let’s face it, relationships and marriage are a challenge… perhaps one of life’s greatest challenges. We need ways to enrich the love in our relationships. We also need ways to help our spouse or partner grow in love. Read this article and share it with your spouse or partner.

Realize that the spark didn’t go out over night. Similarly, it will take some time for the spark to return. However, with a little bit of effort on your part by using the suggestions below you will play a vital role in bringing back that spark in no time.

Successful relationships are successful because the two partners work on their relationship everyday. If you are married, on your wedding day you planted the seeds of love and now you have to tender to them. Don’t get bogged down in the day to day chores and routine of life. Instead focus on the love in your life. It’s never too late to heal an injured relationship. Realize it is only human for the spark to flutter. A relationship needs to be worked at. And by starting with the steps below you are taking a big first step on your journey to rekindle the spark.

Spend time with your partner. Lavish your partner with attention and tender loving care. If you want to be appreciated or loved, you should express genuine appreciation and love to your partner. So how do you do this? Let’s get right to it …

1. Compliment your wife for the smallest things. Guys, this is it. If you have to re-read that sentence a hundred times, do it until it is automatic. Your wife will never get tired of hearing compliments from you; just like you would never get tired of someone saying how much they appreciate all that you do. Within the next hour, go and give her a compliment, such as: “You look great today”, “You have a beautiful smile”. The key is that you must be genuine and sincere. There is at least one nice thing you can say to her today. Use your imagination.

2. Wear sexy lingerie for your husband. Women, men are visual creatures. What man likes to see his wife in flannel pajamas — yes, those are sexy too but nothing beats sexy lingerie. Plus, you will feel very feminine.

3. Purchase and give a lot of small gifts for your spouse such as a cuddly teddy bear or intimate item. Guys, you think that the bigger the gift, the more “points” you will get. In truth, size does not matter. Women give every act of love the same amount of points. Guys, you do not have to do/buy big things to make your woman happy. It truly is the little things that count. Whether you agree or not, giving her a box of chocolates or building her a marble fireplace mantel, both equal one point in her view.

4. For your wedding anniversary, take an annual mini honeymoon. Have a trusted friend or relative look after your children for the weekend. The idea here is to get away from your day-to-day problems and remind yourselves of your honeymoon. You do not have to fly off to some expensive resort. Even a weekend getaway at a nearby bed-and-breakfast will do wonders for your relationship.

5. Go to events that your spouse enjoys even though you don’t particularly enjoy them whether it be ballet, opera, baseball game, football game etc. Besides, you may be pleasantly surprised by the experience. Consider this, seeing your spouse happy is the ultimate thing that will make you happy.

6. Say “I love you” to your spouse and kiss him/her as soon as you get home no matter what. Go and find your spouse in the home right away when you get home. The key here is that your spouse needs to know that you love them and care about them. Your spouse is not a mind reader. Guys, you can read the paper and surf the channels after you have greeted your wife. Your wife has been working all day long and the best gift you can give her is to say “I Love You” as soon as she gets home.

7. Prepare and bring breakfast in bed to your spouse. Everyone loves to be pampered. And this will start the day off on a great note.

8. Let your children and others see you happy and affectionate with each other. As a couple, the ultimate gift that you can give is to show your children what it means to be in love. They look up to you for guidance. Be good role models to them. Your sons and daughters need to see good role models in their mother and in their father so that they know what to expect and how to act in a healthy relationship.

9. Fill your home with lots of photographs of you and your spouse. Place your framed wedding photograph in a prominent place in your home. It is said that a picture is a worth a thousand words. So have lots of pictures. Pictures of happy moments remind you that your current difficulties are only temporary and that you really do love each other.

10. Take walks in the park with your spouse. Hold hands. This gives you an opportunity to talk, to enjoy nature, and reconnect with nature which will in turn enable you to reconnect with each other. Even if you do not say much, the shared experience will be worthwhile.

11. Phone your spouse at work during the day just to say, “I love you. I’m thinking of you. Have a terrific day.” Most people have to deal with stressful situations at work and hearing a loving word from you during the day reminds your spouse that their hard work is appreciated. Even if you just leave a message on their voice mail or send them a text message. They key is to have some communication during the day.

12. Buy your spouse flowers and get them delivered to your spouse’s office on special occasions and also on ordinary days for no reason whatsoever. Guys, do not wait until Valentine’s Day or your anniversary or her birthday or Mother’s Day to send flowers — this is not enough. Every woman loves to receive flowers. Yes, it costs money to send flowers. The bottom line is that every women loves flowers. So send flowers now — that means today. Websites such as DozenRedRoses.com have lots of selection and make it very easy to send flowers. Or just stop by your local grocery store and pick up a nice arrangement.

13. Buy your wife flowers at the airport on her return from a business trip. People may laugh when they see guys at airport arrivals with flowers in hand, but one thing for sure is that those women will be thrilled that their guy was thinking of them. Just imagine your wife coming through arrivals and seeing other women receiving flowers and you have nothing in hand for her. So guys, greet her with flowers.

14. Ask outright for assistance or leave bigger hints when you need assistance if you are afraid to ask your spouse for assistance. Women, this tip is for you. Guys cannot read your mind. There is nothing wrong with asking for assistance; in fact, your guy will be glad to help if you just give him some direction. So ask your guy, “Would you take out the garbage for me, please?” Guys focus on one task and they literally do not see that the garbage needs to be taken out. All you have to do is ask and you will be surprised how much your guy is willing to do for you. And don’t forget to say please. Guys, it would help if you show more sensitivity to your wife and anticipate her needs.

15. Express gratefulness to your spouse for the little things your spouse does for you. In kindergarten you learned to say, “please” and “thank you.” So use them all the time. To often we take our spouse for granted. Everyone likes to be thanked even for tasks that become routine such as taking out the garbage or doing the laundry or cooking dinner and so on. You can apply this lesson in your interactions with anyone throughout your day and it means the most with your spouse.

Pick at least one or two of these tips and do them by the end of today. And you will start to see results immediately. Remember when you first fell in love with your spouse? Once you have rekindled the spark, you will need to keep working on your relationship with fresh ideas. There are many websites available with romance tips and articles such as RomanticCards.com — By doing one or two of these tips every day for two weeks, you will be well on your way to igniting or rekindling the spark in your relationship.